The Wall Street Journal Wants You to 'Read Yourself Better'

The Wall Street Journal wants you to read “better” and will temporarily remove its paywall in an effort to convince you to pay for its journalism. WSJ dropped its first widespread brand campaign on Nov. 4 in an effort to attract new subscribers by encouraging them to “read yourself better.” As part of that effort, WSJ’s paywall will be lifted, and readers can view an unlimited number of articles on the site for three days, from Nov. 9-11. [kickout id="1"] It’s the first major brand campaign to come from WSJ after a 2017 spot that featured hard-working women and encouraged readers to “Read Ambitiously.” In 2015, WSJ’s campaign to “Make Time” featured celebs like will.i.am, Tory Burch and Martin Sorrell, who all made time to read The Journal. This time around, WSJ focused on encouraging readers to turn to quality and trustworthy news for their information. A narrator encourages you to read past the hashtags, misinformation, angry comments, “troll armies” and overall noise in the 90-second spot. “Because no one ever did anything big by reading small. Read yourself better,” the narrator says as the ad closes and a woman begins walking across the street reading The Journal. [kickout id="3"] Ending the ad with a print copy of the newspaper was a symbolic nod to the more than 130 years of history at the foundation of the brand, said CMO Suzi Watford. “We were really clear that everything we create—the quality and the positioning of it—has to be that premium nature. That’s why we spent the time and effort that we did,” she said. WSJ again worked with The&Partnership on the campaign, which took about a year to come together. The spot, which has 30- and 90-second versions, will run on local and cable networks, like NBC and CNN, among others. Out-of-home ads will also appear throughout the country in L.A., Denver, Philadelphia and New York encouraging readers to “Read yourself past the hashtags,” “Read yourself to your own opinion,” and “Read yourself out of your comfort zone.” New York will also have two murals related to the spot. The spot will run across social and digital platforms, and a print ad will appear in Fortune magazine. [kickout id="2"] The campaign is meant to drive subscription rates, which reached more than 2.6 million subscribers in both digital and print as of last quarter. “It’s less about commentary on the political undertones and more commentary on an age of misinformation,” said Agnes Fischer, president of The&Partnership. Other leading publishers have used their own brand campaigns to show their reporting processes, such as The New York Times' recent "The Truth Is Worth It" campaign. The Washington Post’s ad during the Super Bowl paid tribute to journalists on the scene of major historical events. “The best work is work that you look back on and it’s still relevant today. ... What’s enduring, and how do we deliver that in a really timely fashion?” asked Justin Ruben, executive creative director of The&Partnership. CREDITS: Client: The Wall Street Journal Clients: Suzi Watford, Chief Marketing & Membership Officer; Karl Wells, GM, WSJ Membership, Clients: Paul Plumeri, VP of Global Marketing WSJ Creative Agency: The&Partnership New York Executive Creative Director: Justin Ruben Art Director: David Tomkins Copywriter: Simon Philion Designer: Veronica Jeronimo Head of Integrated Production: Kevin Wilson Producer: Niki Polyocan President: Agnes Fischer Chief Strategy Officer: Colm Murphy Business Director: Ryan Colet Account Supervisor: Matthew Connelly Production Company: MJZ Director: Juan Cabral Executive Producer: Emma Wilcockson DOP: Roman Vasyanov Production Partner: Labhouse Managing Director: Flora Fernandez Marengo Producer: Natalia Mussolana Production Manager: Patricia Rzeznik 1st AD: Esteban Gomez Art Director: Micala Saeigh Art Director: Maria Battaglia Stylist: Florencia Tellado Editorial: Rock Paper Scissors Managing Director: Eve Kornblum Editor: Mikkel EG Nielsen Assistant Editor: Alex Liu VFX: Framestore Executive Creative Director: Murray Butler Creative Director: Jordi Bares Dominguez Director of Production: Sarah Hiddlestone Senior Producer: Sue McNamara Sound: Wave Studios NY Sound Design: Chris Afzal and Aaron Reynolds Mix: Chris Afzal and Aaron Reynolds Executive Producer: Vicky Ferraro Associate Producer: Eleni Giannopoulos Voiceover: Boyd Holbrook Music: Plantasia by Mort Garson